Lemon-Oregano Lamb Chops

March 24th, 2012 kyle

I didn’t get a chance to update with our latest meal because it was date night! Yup, and let me tell you it was a total FAIL! Not the dinner, but the date! I’ve mentioned before that me and the ol’ man don’t do much but work, workout and eat. Well, the same goes for yesterday. We ended up driving to the movie theater, only to find that our movie was completely sold out. Those damn young college kids! They buy all their tickets online so that old fogies like ourselves that never see the city lights can’t get any! I was even prepared with snacks in my purse! I made us each a baggie with toasted pecans tossed in cinnamon, coconut flakes, and raisins. Sounds like something a grandma would do. Haha, the next available showing was @ 10-something and I do recall us standing in front of the box office and Jason saying in a very serious way, “….but we’ll be asleep by then.” It’s true! So no movie date night for us, at least not at the theater. We ended up going to Hastings and buying a new movie to take home, along with a new magazine for me with pictures of asparagus on the cover – SCORE!

It’s the simple things in life sometimes, you know? We had a wonderful time, and we still ate the snacks in the comfort of our own home. Our workout and dinner weren’t too shabby beforehand. Jason wanted to run to the park, but I didn’t feel like running…so while he ran I passed him up in the car. The car hauled some dumbbells though, which was a nice supplement to our usual park exercises with only body weight. I have been making a conscious effort to not over-do it, though. I have seen more timely results when I only work out 3-4 days a week rather than 5-6. My workout consisted of 10 knees-to-elbows, followed by 10 lunges with 60 lbs — then you count down from there – 9 of each, 8 of each…and so forth until you only do 1 and 1. While Jason finished up his workout I got on the swing! The weather was beautiful and the sun felt so nice. We have been making an effort to spend more time outside now that it is warm everyday. The sun is soooo good for you, by that I mean Vitamin D.

Let’s Talk about Vitamin D

One of the things that we do not include in our Paleo lifestyle is milk or milk products. The majority of this reasoning is not that milk is necessarily bad for you, but the milk that you buy at the store is not worth drinking. Living a Paleo lifestyle is ALL about quality of food. If I had access to a dairy cow that was solely pasture fed and her milk was given to me raw I would absolutely drink it. That is why I have no issues with using butter in my cooking; however, it is butter that is produced by grass-fed cows. Most of the time I use ghee, which is clarified. Basically that means that all the water and milk solids have been removed from the butter and you’re left with nothing but butter fat. That is where all the nutrients are. Now, vitamin D is not one of these. After going Paleo I had people ask me all the time, “what? no milk!?…but where oh’ where will you get your vitamin D from!?” No one asked the question that dramatically, but that’s how it plays out in my head. Milk does not have vitamin D in it naturally; it is fortified with vitamin D. Fortified means that it is added by us, humans…in a lab or factory most likely…not the farm. Back in the 30’s folks were having problems with a lack of this essential vitamin – causing them to have rickets. So vitamin D was added to milk to help supplement our diet. Milk was a great choice because you actually need calcium in order to absorb vitamin D. They go hand and hand like best friends. So back to the posing question – if I don’t get my vitamin D from milk, where do I get it? Well, there are a hand full of food sources that have it. Fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, sardines, and also egg yolks contain vitamin D. The list is somewhat short. But you know where to get an abundant supply of vitamin D? THE SUN!!! It is extremely important to get your source of vitamin D from the sun because it is far more likely to give you the amount you need rather than food. UV rays from the sun triggers vitamin D production in your skin, and yes…if you are wearing sunscreen these beneficial UV rays are blocked hindering you from getting your vitamin. The nice thing is that it only takes 10-15 minutes of sun exposure to get a nice dose, so leave the sun screen off for a little while and then put it on if you plan on being outside longer.

After a nice afternoon in the sun your skin feels warm and tightened and just healthy! Perfect time to relax and sit down to a healthy meal. Your body loves you right now!

Ingredients

4-6 lamb chops, pasture raised if you can get them

1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil

splash of balsamic vinegar

juice from 1 lemon

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 shallot, minced

1 tsp. dried oregano

salt and pepper to taste

Process

Rinse lamb chops under cool water and pat dry.

Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl and pour over chops.

Let marinate in the refrigerator for as long as you can. You can do 1 hour or 24 – just whatever time frame you have.

These would be great on the grill, but I used my handy-dandy broiler. Broil 4 minutes on each side and then tent with foil to let rest for 5 minutes.